1 Corinthians 7:14

1 Corinthians 7:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
• New International Version (NIV)For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

Context of 1 Corinthians 7:14

12To all you other people, I say this. (This is what I think. The Lord has not spoken about it.) A Christian man may have a wife who does not believe in Christ. If she agrees to continue living with him, then he should not send her away. 13Also, a Christian woman may have a husband who does not believe in Christ. If he agrees to continue living with her, then she should not leave him. God accepts a husband who does not believe in Christ because of his Christian wife. And God accepts a wife who does not believe in Christ because of her Christian husband. If that was not true, the children would not belong to God. But God does accept them, because to him they are now clean. 15But the husband or wife who does not believe in Christ may want to leave. If they want to become separate, let them do that. If that happens, the Christian man or woman is now free. God wants you to live in peace. 16If you are a Christian wife, you might save your husband. If you are a Christian husband, you might save your wife. But you can not be sure of what will happen.

1 Corinthians 7:14 word by word

ἡγίασται γὰρ ὁ ἀνὴρ ὁ ἄπιστος ἐν τῇ γυναικί, καὶ ἡγίασται ἡ γυνὴ ἡ ἄπιστος ἐν τῷ ἀδελφῷ· ἐπεὶ ἄρα τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν ἀκάθαρτά ἐστιν, νῦν δὲ ἅγιά ἐστιν.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• the unbelievingἄπιστοςapistos · unbelievingG571
• husbandἀνήρanēr · man: husbandG435
• is sanctifiedἁγιάζωhagiazō · to sanctifyG37
• byἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• the wifeγυνήgunē · woman: wifeG1135
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• the husbandἀνήρanēr · man: husbandG435
• elseἐπείepei · sinceG1893
• ·ἄραara · thereforeG686
• wereεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• childrenτέκνονteknon · childG5043
• uncleanἀκάθαρτοςakathartos · uncleanG169
• butδέde · thenG1161
• nowνῦνnun · nowG3568
• holyἅγιοςhagios · holyG40

Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 7:14

• 1 Corinthians 6:15You know that your bodies are parts of Christ's own body. So you must never take your body and make it join with a prostitute's body. That is like you have done it with part of Christ's body. Never let that happen!
• Ezra 9:1When we had done all these things, the Jewish leaders came to speak to me. They said, ‘Some of the Israelites have done disgusting things, like the people of other nations do. Some priests and Levites have done the same bad things. They live in the same way as the other people who live in this land, the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. They have not kept themselves separate.
• 1 Timothy 4:5God has said that it is good. We should pray that he will bless it. Because of that, it becomes good and clean for us to eat.
• Ezra 9:2They have married some of the foreign people's daughters. They have let their sons do the same thing. In this way, God's holy people have become mixed with the foreign people who live near to them. Our own leaders and officers have led the way in these bad things.’
• Isaiah 52:1Wake up, Zion! Be ready to show your strength! Jerusalem, God's holy city, Put on your beautiful clothes! Foreign people who do not serve God will not attack your city again.
• Malachi 2:15The Lord has joined you together, as a man with his wife. Your body and your spirit belong to him. Why did God put you together? He wanted you to have children who would belong to him. So think carefully about how you live. Do not leave the wife that you married when you were a young man.
• Acts 10:23Then Peter said to the men, ‘Please come into the house and stay here with us tonight.’ The next day, Peter left Joppa to go to Caesarea with Cornelius's men. Some believers who lived in Joppa travelled with them.
• Romans 11:16If you offer the first piece of bread to God, then all the bread will belong to God. If the roots of a tree belong to God, then the branches will also be his.

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife - Or rather, is to be reputed as sanctified on account of his wife; she being a Christian woman, and he, though a heathen, being by marriage one flesh with her: her sanctity, as far as it refers to outward things, may be considered as imputed to him so as to render their connection not unlawful. The case is the same when the wife is a heathen and the husband a Christian. The word sanctification here is to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14For the unbelieving husband - The husband that is not a Christian; who still remains a pagan, or an impenitent man. The apostle here states reasons why a separation should not take place when there was a difference of religion between the husband and the wife. The first is, that the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife. And the object of this statement seems to be, to meet an objection which might exist in the mind, and which might…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-16Verses 10-16 Man and wife must not separate for any other cause than what Christ allows. Divorce, at that time, was very common among both Jews and Gentiles, on very slight pretexts. Marriage is a Divine institution; and is an engagement for life, by God's appointment. We are bound, as much as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men, Ro 12:18, therefore to promote the peace and comfort of our nearest relatives, though unbelievers. It should be the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14By staying committed to the marriage, the Christian makes the unbelieving spouse holy. This holiness also benefits the children, who gain from having a Christian parent (see Malachi 2:15).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. sanctified--Those inseparably connected with the people of God are hallowed thereby, so that the latter may retain the connection without impairing their own sanctity (compare 1Ti 4:5); nay, rather imparting to the former externally some degree of their own hallowed character, and so preparing the way for the unbeliever becoming at last sanctified inwardly by faith. by ... by--rather, "in ... in"; that is, in virtue of the marriage tie between them…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Corinthians 7:14

• Children
• Divorce
• Husband
• Marriage
• Wife

In the dictionaries

• Abuse
• Attend
• Baptism, Christian
• Church
• Consent
• Contain
• Distraction
• Loose
• Mercy
• Revelation of Christ

Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings